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Doctors hoped when she came off sedatives she would wake. She never did.

A MRI on July 10 confirmed their worst fears. Lucy had sustained severe damage to her upper brain stem - the part of the brain that controls consciousness.

They were told it would be highly unlikely Lucy would regain consciousness, Mr Rentz said."We were devastated, it was massive blow."

Mr Rentz said that before the accident, his daughter was "Miss Congeniality" with a zest for life.

Lucy was a very bubbly person who brought a lot of joy to a lot of people, Mr Rentz said.

"She would walk into a room and her bright smile would light it up."

"She got the equivalent of a Miss Congeniality award when she was younger and always fought for the underdog."

They moved Lucy home to New Zealand on July 21, 2015 on a private jet which doubled as an ICU. She was admitted to Waikato Hospital for three weeks and then moved to the Acquired Brain Injury Rehabilitation in Ranui, West Auckland for four months.

During this time Lucy went back to hospital 12 times, often for respiratory infections.

The family was eventually told nothing more could be done for their little girl to prevent more aspirations and infections. Two days before Christmas last year Lucy was moved to Radius Matua, in Tauranga.

She was admitted to Tauranga Hospital on September 2 and diagnosed with pneumonia the following day.

She died the next day.

"We never gave up hope. We all continued to pray, hope and believe for a miracle," Mr Rentz said.

"We had all been hoping, praying and believing for a miracle but eternal life is a miracle too."

Two services were held for Lucy over the past week, one in Tauranga and one in Thames, with loved ones sharing emotional and heartfelt tributes.